Wheel guard and track clearer for railway cars



2 Sheets- Sheet l. P.. POR'TOIS.

Patented July 17, 1888.

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(No Model.)

WHEEL GUARD AND TRACK GLRARRR ROR RAILWAY GARS.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. PORTOIS.

WHEEL GUARD AND TRACK GLEARER FOR RAILWAY GARS. No. 386,346. Patented July 17, 1888.

1.1? @A m is T1' .2. I" 7 i E' r J? Y o .B fl lfv; d D o uw l o Z7 PETER PORTOIS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALFORNIA.

WHEEL-GUARD AND TRACK-CLEARER FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 386,346, dated July 17, 1888.

(No model.)

To LZZ whom, it mag/concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER, Pon'rois, a eltizen of the United States, residing at San Frair cisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful improvements in \VheelGuards and Track-Clearers for Street-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full7 clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the drawings that accompany and form part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in wheel-guards and trackclearers, and of such construction that it constitutes, when fixed beneath a street-car, both a fender in front and a guard at the sides of the wheels, and is an improvement in devices ot' like character for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me September o', 1887, No. 369,553. y

My present invention is more particularly adapted to cars operated by cables, although it may be employed on ordinary street-cars; and it consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts and devices forming a wheel guard and track-clearer, to be hereinafter fully described.

The following description explains the nature of the said construction and the manner in which I produce and apply it in carrying out my invent-ion, the said drawings being re ferred to by ligures and letters.

Figure l is a side view of a Streetcar with my track-clearer and wheeleguard in position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of wheelguard and track-clearer partly in section. Fig. 3 is a top view ot' the track clearer. Figs. et and 5 are views in detail.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

The track -clearer frames A are suitably braced and clad in iron or mail, B, and to the lower face of the longitudinal center bar, C, is lconnected at the front and rear ends the pilots D D. These are curved, as shown at Fig. 2, and are carried along by the movements ot' the carin close proximity to the face of the slot-irons ofthe roadway. To the ends ofthe pilots are pivoted the depending arms DX DX, which are also carried along` by the movements of the car in the gripper-slot and serve to guide and steady the track-clearer, as well as to assist in clearing the track and prevent derailment ofthe car. They are ofsuch length that the track-clearer can be raised to a sufficient height without lifting them from the slot in which they travel, yet can be raised from the slot and thrown back ou their pivots upon the ends of the pilot-arms.

One of these track-clearers is connected to each end of the car, as shown in Fig. l, by means of hooks and eyebolts E Econnecting with the corner uprights of the frame and carbody, which forms a link or jointed connection with the car-body and ilnparts to the trackclearers the necessary oscillation or movement in passing over inequalities or slight obstructions ofthe track. On the upper arm of both links or hooks is formed a movable take-up nut or turn-buckle, F, which admits the rear end ofthe track-clearer to be raised or lowered at will, to give it the proper pitch forward or rearward and relieve the friction of the curved arms of Vthe pilots upon the slot irons or plates. As an auxiliary to these take-up links and to support the rear end of the track-clearers, I employ the thumb screws G G and brackets H H. The latter are connected to the under side ofthe car-body,and the former pass through the lower ends ofthe brackets and operate or act against the uprights ofthe trackclearer, and by turning these thumb-screws the position of the track-clearer can be changed from a true vertical to an inclined or pitched position and the entire weight be suspended bythe links, thus relieving the curved arms ot' the pilots from frictional contact with the face of the slotirons.

These track-clearers are connected to the car-body or dummy a sufficient distance from the platforms or ends as not to come in contact with other or connecting cars ordummies, and in pretty close proximity to the wheels, so that cars having my improvements attached thereto can be turned or changed end for end, as both clearers are constructed alike, or the depending jointed arms that operate in the slot, however, can be thrown back, should a ear be in position to require it along the line or in changing from end to end by means of a turn-table or otherwise.

In order to secure immunity from accident by the wheels from the sides ot' the car, I have provided guards of peculiar construction, consisting of a frame, I, of two or more longitudinal slats, IX IX, connected to the uprights I2 I2 I2, the latter being hinged at J J to the straps K K underneath the body of the car. These side guards can be swung forward or outward from a vertical to an upright position swinging backward onV their hinges, but are prevented from inward movement by the bent arms H, the upper ends of which rest-against "the upper arms of the straps K K, while the claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. In a track-clearer and wheel-guard for railway-cars, the combination, with a frame,

A, and links or hooks for suspending it, said suspending means being attached to one end of the frame, cfa vertical arm, H, forming an abutment for vthe lower edge of the frame,and curved pilots D, secured to each end of frame A and resting upon the surface of the track, and pivoted depending arms or bars standing and traveling in the gri pper-slot, as set forth.

2. The combination, with atrack-clearer for railway-cars, of links secu red to one end thereof and connecting said end to the car-body, said links having a turnbuckle in'them, of a vertical brace, as H,having a set-screw, G, in its lower end against which the lower portion o'f the frame of the clearer rests, and pilots having pivoted arms or bars for running in the gripperslot, as set forth.

3. The combination, with a trackclearer and car-body, of links by which the clearer is suspended from said body, adjusting means, as described, for said links, and the thumbscrews operating in steadying-brackets against the lower inner corners of the track-clearer,

as and for the purpose speciiied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I` have hereunto set my hand and seal.

PETER PORTOIS. [L s] Witnesses:

O. W; M. SMITH, JAMES L. KING. 

